It was a last minute thing when I got the call this past Wednesday. My friend at the lakehouse was having a sweat lodge that had been planned for several weeks but when the leader had to bow out at the last moment, she turned to me to try to find a replacement or either to lead it. At the current time, due to health, it is too much of a risk for me to participate but I told her I’d come down for the weekend as support and advisor. And, since I love to cook for friends, I’d prepare dinner.
Everything worked out well in the end though I’d made the trip from Berlin to Bad Saarow-Pieskow after working all day, a journey of usually an hour and a half by trains and bus. Unfortunately, however, I’d forgotten it was the weekend and there are few buses running to the little village by lake Scharmützelsee…and I missed the last bus. It was a long, long cold walk in the dark, especially with the ingredients for dinner I was carrying, but as always, was worth it in the end: a warm welcome back to the house I’ve lived in before with my son and my friend, as well as whomever else happens to turn up at the door. And so they sweat, and I cooked and stayed inside and chillaxed.
Another time I did participate in a sweat lodge in Germany, almost ten years ago. A strangely warm stormy evening in December when we went inside, only to come out…and find the landscape then quiet, covered in a thick layer of snow.
And today, with my friend, I voluntarily walked the paths around the lake I did last Februarywhen it was completely frozen across. I wanted to take photos of the lake in motion, and though the day was grey and misty, it was nice to see from the same points again. Two extended photo journals of the frozen lake are here, if you’ll view them you can compare the scenes:
And the best thing of all? My quirky friend whom I’ve written about multiple times through out this blog such as in The Goose God Cometh Forth and Back At Scharmützelsee (Photos), saw two rather large, old style wooden lawn chairs that someone has tossed out…and she had to have them. And a sled. And a hammock. And so several kilometres back to the house carrying at this stuff, after the long walk yesterday and today? I’ll sleep good tonight.
Other photo journals and stories from Germany:
Red Haircrow 
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